Celebrate First-Gen Day

Celebrate with us on November 7, 2019!

Join us in celebration of first-generation college students across the nation! We're hosting a day of activities in Henderson Hall. Full list of activities below.

RSVP HERE

Each November 8 marks the National First-Generation College Celebration which LAUNCH celebrates as First Gen Day! This year, LAUNCH is celebrating one day ahead on November 7.

First Gen Day celebrates current students and graduates who are the first in their family to attend college and who enrolled at  (or graduated from) Texas A&M University. First-Generation Students matter to us and we are proud to have them in LAUNCH!

View our albums below to see some of the First-Generation students at Texas A&M University and in LAUNCH.

First-Gen Celebration Album
Fall 2019

First-Gen Celebration Album Read now First-Gen Celebration Album Fall 2019

First-Gen Celebration Album
Fall 2018

First-Gen Celebration Album Read now First-Gen Celebration Album Fall 2018
Since the University's beginnings as a land grant college, Aggies included First-Generation students.  Texas A&M defines First-Generation students as those whose parents or step-parents did not complete an undergraduate degree at a college or university.

First-Generation students began to receive more attention from the campus in 2004 with the creation of the Regents' Scholarship under the leadership of President Robert M. Gates, himself a first-generation student.  Since then additional programs connecting First-Generation students to our campus grew  and now flourish in multiple locations. 

LAUNCH is proud to be the campus home for many First-Generation students. 
The Center for First-Generation Student Success, sponsored by NASPA and the Suder Foundation, and the Council for Opportunity in Education established the first national celebration of First-Generation College Students in 2017.

The celebration's annual date honors the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965 which intended to open opportunities for postsecondary study and to provide programming to keep students from minority and low-income backgrounds enrolled through graduation with their college degrees. 

November 7 Activities

LAUNCH First-Generation Celebration will be held Thursday, November 7 from 10 am to 2 pm in Henderson Hall. Our celebration includes:

  • Adding First-Generation Student Portraits to our First-Gen Aggies Boards
  • Adding Custom Social Media Filters to First-Generation Student Pictures
  • Distributing LAUNCH First-Generation Student and TAMU First-Generation Student Buttons
  • Distributing LAUNCH Supports First-Generation Students and TAMU Supports First Generation Student Buttons
  • Viewing the 2018 Digital Album
  • Creating Learning Community First-Generation Buttons on Demand
  • Posting First-Generation Stories on LAUNCH social media
  • Munching on MESS Waffles  (please RSVP through our calendar  to help us get an accurate count for waffles!)